A little over a year ago, I became the unit manager of the Pass-through Unit. The main areas I try to focus on, both internally and externally, are customer service, education, and communication. I believe that clear, respectful, and transparent communication are an essential foundation to every relationship.

I applied for and was selected as a Lead Auditor in the Pass-through Unit. I worked with the manager to assist in the running of the unit, including mentoring auditors, answering questions in the unit, providing opinions and advice on program policy and unit work assignments to the manager, and implementing work plans with the unit. The main large project I worked on at this time was the annual forms design/modernized e-file process, which involved careful review of Montana passthrough form, instructions, and laws, as well as the systems in which we interact with the returns. It's a complex but critically important yearly process.

I moved from my role as a Management Analyst to a new position tax examiner. I reviewed and adjusted tax returns for partnerships, disregarded entities, and small business corporation. I reviewed IRC, Treasury Regs, MCA, and ARM to ensure that federal and state laws are followed by both taxpayers and the department. Worked with state and federal tax returns on a daily basis.

I worked as a Management Analyst for the Department of Revenue. I work with my supervisor to prioritize, oversee, and implement department-level projects. I was in charge of the SABHRS offset program daily tasks, which included running reports, determining which payments are legally eligible for offset, sending out correspondence to individuals who have been offset, and answering the questions of people and organizations who are unfamiliar with the offset process. Additionally, I helped out the bankruptcy unit, moving back and forth as necessary.

For some time, I had been performing both the Bankruptcy Technician and Bankruptcy Specialist jobs. Many of the responsibilities are the same; however, the Bankruptcy Specialist position has more responsibility and is required to do more in-depth research and make program-level decisions. Please see previous entry for greater detail. During my time in the Bankruptcy Unit, I helped the Collections Bureau as co-chair of the Procedure Review Team, standardizing language and formats for department procedures.

For some time, I had been performing both the Bankruptcy Technician and Bankruptcy Specialist jobs. Many of the responsibilities are the same; however, the Bankruptcy Specialist position has more responsibility and is required to do more in-depth research and make program-level decisions. Some of these responsibilities are detailed below. • Research bankruptcy cases by examining schedules to determine liability owed State of Montana, if any.• Determination of debt status (secured, unsecured, priority), as well as which is most beneficial for the State of Montana in the distribution phase.• Determine discharability of remaining debt, inform taxpayers of any outstanding debt, close the bankruptcy in GenTax, and assign the case to a Collector.• Work with attorneys to develop the best collection strategies for a given case; coordinate with attorneys in the collection process.• Prepare and file proofs of claim with the bankruptcy court on behalf of the State of Montana.• Create and file digital and hardcopy files for the bankruptcy cases.• Review and release refunds to taxpayers or trustees depending on whether the trustee requested the refund or not.• Work with attorneys to determine best course of action for a given case, and to prepare any necessary documentation.• Attend hearings and examinations, providing administrative support to attorneys and testifying if necessary.• Train Department of Revenue personnel about bankruptcy rules and laws.

My duties at the Montana Department of Revenue Collections Bureau (CB) include sorting and processing incoming mail, analyzing and researching mail that isn't well-marked to determine to whom it should be routed, utilize a variety of search programs and databases to find information, scanning and attaching documents in the tax software GenTax, collecting and distributing information about delinquent taxpayers as requested by the phone collectors and managers, following State of Montana and Federal privacy requirements regarding taxpayer information, researching Unclaimed Property requests, and other tasks as requested.

I worked at the Montana Highway Patrol as a Purchasing Technician. The job included purchasing supplies for the uniformed officers of the Montana Highway Patrol, shipping, receiving, and keeping track of inventory. I used Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook on a daily basis. I also used MS Access and Crystal Reports to a lesser extent. Additionally, I was a State Point of Contact for the 1033 Program (military surplus to law enforcement). This included all aspects of coordinating state and local law enforcement agencies’ participation in the 1033 Program, including addressing problems, resolving conflicts, filling records, acting as go-between for law enforcement agencies and Federal agencies, record-keeping, and ensuring program compliance.

The job was a temp position at the Montana Highway Patrol. It began as data entry, entering crash reports for the records section. Duties included data input, working with the public, filling requests for crash reports, and filing crash reports. Later, I was moved from Records to HR, where I helped with recruitment, copying, and answering the phone. I was then moved again to Fleet and Supply, where I helped with purchasing, shipping, receiving, and distribution. This job ended when I was hired full time at the Montana Highway Patrol.